Perennial
by android kitty
Summary: In Galar, a region caught up in the hype of Pokemon battling, Moira wants nothing more than to live a quiet life running her mother's flower shop - despite her mother's wishes otherwise. When she begrudgingly agrees to try the Gym Challenge for just a few months, however, she gets caught up in a dark conspiracy that threatens to consume the entire region - and her dreams with it.
1. Chapter 1: Calla Lilies

**A/N:** lol I came crawling back after sword and shield came out and I suddenly had an intense urge to novelize my nuzlocke. I haven't written anything for ages, so I guess I'm testing the waters with something low effort :' )

Basic rules are: Catch the first pokemon you run into on each route; if they faint in battle, they're dead; no healing items/battle items/held items; set battle; if every caught pokemon dies, then it's game over; no starters allowed.

This will sort of follow game canon up until a certain point, and diverge somewhat from there.

edit: lmao i forgot how to use line breaks apparently

* * *

**Chapter One**

There was something almost dreamlike about the way raindrops slid down the glass walls of the greenhouse, blurring slate-grey clouds into the rolling hills surrounding Postwick like an impressionist painting. Moira felt like she could watch it for hours, lulled into a sense of peace by the deep rumble of thunder as she transplanted begonias and trimmed roses for bouquets. Hop was always bored within minutes of watching her work, but he'd always been a little too impatient to appreciate the silence, she mused, absent-mindedly sweeping fallen flower petals into a dusty pile.

"Dinner's almost ready!" Moira glanced from the floor up to see her mother leaning in through the doorway of dim room, a look of consternation on her face.

"I'll be there in a second!" she shouted back, hastily sweeping the debris into the dustpan and dumping it in the fertilizer bin. Wiping her dusty hands off, she hung up her apron and dashed up the pathway leading up to the house, hands folded over her head to block the downpour. By the time she walked inside, she was almost drenched; autumn rains in Galar always came down in a veritable deluge, chilling everything to the bone. The warmth inside the cottage was a welcome change as she hastily pulled off her damp wool coat and kicked her shoes off.

"Hey, Avalon," she said brightly, patting the Rookidee perched on the coat hanger fondly. He chirped back in response, fluttering down to land on her shoulder.

"It's dark already, Moira. You don't have to work so late," her mom chided her as she sat down at the dining table. "The flowers aren't going to run away if you leave them alone for a bit, you know." Moira laughed, transfering a heaping spoonful of mash to her plate.

"It's not work if I'm having fun, Mom," she said, rolling her eyes. "I'm going to run the shop someday; might as well get used to the working hours now."

Her mom sighed. "There's more to life than just plants, love. I wish you'd at least consider traveling."

"I have everything I want here. Not everyone wants to go on a Pokemon journey," Moira mumbled around a mouthful of potato, jolting upright as Avalon chirped and pecked her ear. "Hey- stop it, you prat" she said, swatting at him ineffectually.

"Even he's tired of being cooped up here all the time," her mom murmured. "If only I had the energy to show him around Galar…"

Moira frowned, looking at her mother's pale, drawn face. "That's why I should be here, Mom. You need someone to help out around the shop." Though her tone was meant to be reassuring, her mom just glanced away guiltily, fingers drumming on the table.

"Ah, I feel like you were born with the soul of a grandmother," she joked, the corner of her mouth quirking up slightly. "Sometimes I can't tell who's the mother around here."

Moira rolled her eyes, gathering up the dishes and making her way towards the sink. "Well, it's me tonight. I'll wash up the dishes; the doctor said you shouldn't do anything strenuous so soon after the surgery." She brandished a newly soaped up sponge at her mother, fixing her with a stern look.

"Dishes aren't quite that strenuous, love," her mom said, smiling and ruffling Moira's hair until she squawked and ducked away. "But I'll do as you command, oh-mighty-Moira. As long as you promise to go to sleep at a reasonable time for once - I can see when the lights are on in the greenhouse from my window, you know."

The door clicked shut gently behind her as she made her way to her room. "Yeah, yeah," Moira grumbled, scrubbing extra-hard at a stubborn spot. "It's okay for me to travel across the region alone, but Arceus forbid I go to sleep too late." Despite her words, however, she slipped into her room soon after the dishes were done, cracking open a window to let the cool breeze in. Moira crawled under the quilted coverlet and smiled as Avalon fluttered in behind her and settled on her pillow. "G'night, you," she mumbled fondly, curling up on her side and letting the rain lull her to sleep.

* * *

Morning dawned in the form of clear skies and insistent knocking on her bedroom door. "Go away, I'm sleeping," she shouted into her pillow, pulling her blankets up around her head and burrowing into the sheets futilely.

"C'mon, Moira," Hop yelled from behind her door. "You promised you'd come with me to meet Lee at the station; He's supposed to get here in an hour and you're not even up!" Moira groaned and yanked the sheets off, pulling her arms up in a spine-cracking stretch as she rolled out of bed and stumbled to her dresser.

"Okay, okay. I'll be out in thirty minutes, just let me change first," she called. She heard a muffled thud outside her door - the sound of Hop hopping in excitement - and grinned bemusedly. She had no idea where he got all the energy from, but someone had to be excited enough to make up for her lackadaisical nonchalance, she guessed.

"Sweet! Meet me at my house when you're ready - we can walk to Wedgehurst together." She heard the fading sound of footsteps and sighed, pulling off her soft pajamas and rummaging through her dresser, shivering as the crisp fall air brushed against her skin. She hastily pulled on a thick green jumper and a pair of trousers, lacing her boots with one hand as she pulled her dark hair up into a disheveled bun.

She grabbed her dad's old bag as she dashed through the kitchen, snatching a bit of toast and sparing a moment to wave to her mom. The path to Hop's house was ingrained in her muscle memory at this point after years of dashing to and fro between their houses. She pulled up short from her sprint when she spotted him leaning against the fence next to the garden. "Moira!" he exclaimed, somehow equally excited to talk to her for the second time in an hour. "You'll never guess what - Lee said he has a present for us! Come on, let's get going!" Moira trotted after him as he took off down the path to Wedgehurst, talking nonstop the entire way.

Knowing Leon, it had to be something related to the Pokemon League, she mused, glancing away from Hop to take in the lush greenery surrounding Route 1. She'd never quite understood Hop's fascination with the whole thing, but the rest of Galar seemed to disagree, from the massive crowds she'd seen at all of Leon's battles that Hop had made her watch.

She glanced back down the road, only to see Hop waving at her from the entrance to Wedgehurst, nearly vibrating in excitement. She sped up until she reached up, leaning down and bracing her hands on her knees as she gasped for breath. "Honestly, Hop, not everyone has as much energy as you do," she panted, reaching up to brush her sweaty bangs out of her face.

"I'm just helping you limit test," he said. "And - look! He's finally here!" Moira glanced up to see a large crowd gathered around the entrance to the train station, pushing at each other to get to the front for a glimpse of the hometown celebrity. After a moment of waiting, impatience practically emanating from Hop, the doors slid open and the Champion of Galar walked out, scanning the crowd until his gaze slid over to rest on Moira and Hop.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I keep on writing Hau instead of Hop, lmao. I don't know why they're interchangeable in my head.

This chapter is... how do u say... later than I intended because I may have wiped to Hop and had to restart my whole ass game. I don't know why god cursed me with a team that was all weak to fire when my fella had a scorbunny.

also side notes: no starter b/c I'm not using mine for the nuzlocke. I've headcanoned the gym challenge as something that only posh/well-connected kids get to do, because there's obviously a limited number of trainers in the challenge (b/c they need a letter of endorsement, wishing stone, etc), so moira and hop kinda got in on basis of knowing leon.

* * *

**Chapter 2**

Leon made his way through the crowd slowly, stopping to talk to sign posters and pose for hasty pictures with his well-wishers. Hop spent the whole time vibrating with excitement, rocking back and forth on his heels and wearing tracks into the dusty path. Moira couldn't imagine gathering even half the amount of excitement Hop was normally brimming with on an average day, but she couldn't blame him - according to Hop, Leon's responsibilities as Champion normally kept him away from home; Wyndon and Postwick were on opposite ends of Galar, so he was really only able to make it back home for the holidays.

Moira had never even met him before, and she'd been known Hop for years. She'd seen him many times, though, since Hop forced her to watch practically every single one of his battles. Moira fixed her hair self consciously as Leon finally reached them; even if she wasn't particularly interested in pokemon battling, Hop's brother was still a household name at this point, even if Moira thought he looked like a fashion disaster.

"Hey," Leon said, reaching out to give Hop a noogie, getting an indignant squawk and an elbow in the ribs for his effort. "Sorry I'm late; the train got held up along the way." He glanced at Moira curiously, leaning back appraisingly. "You must be Moira? Hop's told me all about you." Moira waved hesitantly.

"Only good things, I hope," she said.

"Of course," Leon said, smiling wryly. "Sometimes I'm worried Hop's a bigger fan of you than me, honestly." Hop flushed and aimed another pointy elbow at Leon, scowling.

"Honestly- shut up," he whined, spinning around resolutely and marching back up the road to his house. Moira and Leon scrambled to catch up to him.

"Aw, you don't have to be embarrassed," Leon quipped, grinning knowingly. "It's completely understandable! Ah, to be young and in love again-" Hop, impossibly, sped up even more, practically running at this point.

"It's not like that! You're not even that much older than me, you twat," he grumbled as they jogged after him.

* * *

By the time they made it back to Hop's house, his mom had already set up the grill in the yard. The smell of spices and roasting meat filled the air, prompting a timely growl from Hop's stomach. Moira flopped face-down onto the dew-dampened grass in an ungainly heap, out of breath and even sweatier than before. Gardening, unfortunately, had not done wonders for her cardiovascular health. "This is your fault," she wheezed, glaring at Hop. "I just showered-" Hop chucked a paper plate at her face, managing to score a direct hit on her forehead.

"Maybe you're just out of shape," he offered, sitting down at the table next to the grill. "If you spent less time napping and more time exercising like me…" He grabbed a kebab from the grill, shoving half of it in his mouth in one go. Moira rolled over feebly and made grabby hands vaguely in his direction, fixing him with her best yamper-dog eyes.

"Yeah, that's what I was talking about," he said, even as he begrudgingly grabbed another kebab from the grill and passed it to her. Moira grinned winningly.

"Thanks, man," she said, sitting up to eat. Leon ambled over from inside the house, having changed out of his Champion regalia into sweater and a pair of joggers, dropping his bag on the table and digging in it for something. Hop perked up immediately, leaning over to look inside.

"So what'd you get us, Lee?" he asked eagerly. Leon beamed, pulling a bundle out of his bag triumphantly.

"Consider it a late graduation present for you and Moira," he said, unwrapping the bundle. Hop's eyes widened.

"No," he said, grabbing what looked like a piece of paper and staring at it unblinkingly.

"Yes," Leon said, amused. Moira stood up, peeking over Hop's shoulder to see what it was. It almost looked like her high school diploma, if it had said "Gym Challenge Endorsement" on the front instead of her name. _Oh no,_ she thought, a wave of resignation washing over her. Hop shoved the other sheaf of paper and a wishing stone into her hands.

"Oh man- I have been waiting for so long," he enthused. "Didn't you say you didn't think I was ready last year?"

"Mom convinced me," Leon said around a mouthful of kebab. "And besides, you graduated this year. Quitting school worked out fine for me, but it was kind of a risky decision at the time. You can thank her for remembering Moira, too - she said the two of you were practically attached at the hip." Moira glanced at the letter pensively. There was no way she was getting out of it now; Hop would probably drag her along kicking and screaming even if she tried to bow out.

"Thanks," she said hesitantly, glancing at Leon and trying to muster up a facade of cheerfulness. The corner of his mouth quirked up in a smile.

"Yeah, mom said you'd be a bit more reluctant about it, but she insisted. You might be surprised - being a pokemon trainer can be incredibly fulfilling. And Hop thinks you have what it takes. Even if my brother's dumb sometimes, he's a good judge of character." Hop scowled, but Leon laughed, reaching into his bag again.

"Hey, I even got you something extra. The professor gave me a couple of pokemon to train, but I don't have space on my team for more than one right now, so I thought I'd let you pick one." He tossed two pokeballs into the air, sending out a scorbunny and a grookey. Hop gravitated towards them in an instant, peering at them intensely. The grookey seemed more interested in the daisies sprouting in the lawn, but the scorbunny peered back, bouncing from foot to foot restlessly. Hop beamed at it, holding out his hand.

"Wanna come with? I'm going to be the next champ, you know!" The scorbunny blinked at this, tilting its head in consideration for a moment before tapping Hop's palm decisively. Leon tossed him the pokeball, and crouched down next to the grookey.

"Then you're coming with me. We'll get you up to speed in no time." Leon glanced at Moira.

"I can help you catch a pokemon if you don't have one, but Mom said that your rookidee's practically raring to go on an adventure." Moira laughed.

"Yeah, I think he's been getting a little stir crazy lately." Even if she'd be perfectly happy staying at home until old age, Avalon definitely had very, very different aspirations.

* * *

Moira barely managed to open the front door of her house before her mom barrelled into her, wrapping her in a lung-crushing hug and talking a mile a minute, Avalon flying giddy circles around her head

"Hop's mom told me everything - I'm so excited!" Moira gasped for air, patting her mom's back feebly.

"I won't be able to help out with the shop anymore, though," she said, frowning. Her mom swatted her arm.

"I might be sick, love, but I'm not incapable," her mom chided, leaning back and resting her hands on Moira's shoulder. "It feels like just yesterday that I went on my own challenge - though I couldn't make it past the third gym. Now you're going on your own adventure." Her eyes were suspiciously teary, but her smile was wide. Moira laughed, ducking away from her arms and sitting down at the kitchen table.

"You never know, maybe I won't even be able to beat the first gym," she joked.

"I think you can make it to the end," her mom said. "Well, I might be biased, but I think you've got what it takes. Think of the marketing opportunities if you become Champion - the shop will get so much business. Besides, you're my daughter. I know you won't drop out at the first gym just so you can come back home." She fixed Moira with a knowing eye.

"Okay, okay, you got me," Moira sighed, holding her hands up in surrender. "I'll do my best. No promises, though - I could be a terrible trainer, for all I know."

"Well, you never know until you try. That's how most things in life are."

* * *

Moira woke up late and to the sound of Hop banging on her door, as usual. "Ten more minutes," she moaned, pulling her quilt over her head in an attempt to drown out the noise.

"The ten more minutes clause doesn't work if it's past twelve," he shouted, his voice muffled by the wooden door. "If you're not at my house in an hour, I'm taking the train to Motostoke without you!" Moira gasped, leaping out of bed to slam the door open.

"You wouldn't," she said, betrayed.

"Yeah, I wouldn't," Hop said, laughing. "But you're up, so it worked! I'm going back to get my stuff - I'll meet you at the station at one." Moira sighed.

"You win this round." She trudged to her closet, throwing the doors open and scowling. "Now get out, I have to change."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Anemone

a/n: ok life beat me up a little but I am in a place where I can write again! I'm honestly so mad my first pokemon was a skwovet. they're cute but like... I really wanted a nickit they're so much cuter.

* * *

Tooling around the path leading out of Postwick felt bittersweet to Moira. She'd spent many an after-school afternoon wandering through the grassy fields with Hop, cloud gazing and admiring the rolling grass fields while he chattered away with his usual boundless enthusiasm. It was crisp out - each day chillier than the last as winter steadily approached - and Moira had bundled up appropriately, wrapped up in a plethora of jumpers and scarves and her mum's old woolen gloves.

"Leon said that we should pick up our pokedexes in Wedgehurst before we leave," Hop told her, his fingers hooked in his belt loops as he walked, his scorbunny perched on his shoulder. The two had been inseparable ever since they met - the rabbit had taken a shine to Hop, its high-energy personality mirroring Hop's. Avalon was out of his ball too, as usual; he'd barely spent time in it ever since Moira's mom had got him, and he was small enough to follow Moira everywhere easily.

"Oh, it's pretty close to the train station, right?" Moira queried absentmindedly. "I have to pick up some stuff before we leave, actually; you could go on your own if you want - you probably want to talk to the professor way more than I do."

"You are not skipping out to go shopping," he said, rolling his eyes. "Honestly. Women." Moira kicked him in the shin.

"You might have been preparing for this since you were a wee toddler, but some of us don't have clothes for roughing it outdoors! I'm not walking across half the region in _loafers_." Avalon chirped in support, vain bird that he was, and Moira grinned at him, stroking his gleaming feathers. The town was already in sight, the path ending a few metres ahead, but Hop stopped abruptly, spinning around to face Moira. She blinked at him. "What?"

"Before we leave, there's something you need to do," he said seriously. Moira raised an eyebrow.

"And that would be?"

"Catch a pokemon," Hop said, rolling his eyes. "Obviously." Moira balked at this.

"Avalon and I are just fine on our own," she complained. "The first gym leader trains grass type pokemon. I can catch one after that."

"I knew you were listening to me when I told you about my strategy for each gym!" Hop exclaimed triumphantly. "But no, seriously. We're catching you a pokemon. Chop chop - the trains don't run all day." This was blatantly untrue, as the trains did run from morning to evening, but Moira had a feeling that she wasn't going to get out of it without taking drastic measures (like knocking him out and running for it, and she would prefer to minimize any and all strenuous physical activity). She scanned the route halfheartedly, her eyes settling on the first pokemon she spotted.

"Avalon," she said, "go attack that." She gestured vaguely in the direction of a skwovet scampering up a tree, receiving a baleful look from all of her companions for her efforts.

"You have to pick a move," Hop said. "Think of this like preparation for your gym battle - I talked to your mom and she said that you promised to take this seriously." Moira sighed.

"Use peck on the skwovet," she said, and Avalon darted forward and scored a direct hit, knocking it out of the tree and onto the ground. The squirrel squeaked in consternation, its whiskers twitching as it charged at Avalon in retaliation.

"Tell him to fly up so it can't hit him," Hop shouted from the sidelines.

"No backseat training!" Moira yelled back, and proceeded to tell Avalon to do exactly that. "Hone claws and try to grab it and peck it!" Avalon's talon's gleamed as he focused in on his target, and he torpedoed down, curling them into the skwovet's sides and drilling his beak into it. The squirrel flopped onto its back with a dramatic squeak, and Moira fumbled for a pokeball and threw it. In a flash of light, it sucked the skwovet in and shook a few times before settling with a light click.

Moira jogged over to pick it up, a little heady with excitement, and grinned at Hop. "I did it!" she said, waving the pokeball at him.

"Of course you did," he said, going in for a high-five. Moira slapped his hand, and tossed the pokeball, sending out her new pokemon. It blinked in confusion as it materialized, its eyes zeroing in on her as it tilted its head to the side.

"Hi," she said, crouching down until she was somewhat level with the squirrel and extending her hand. "I'm Moira, and I'm a pokemon trainer - want to come with?" The skwovet glanced at Avalon, eyeing him thoughtfully, before nodding and hopping into her outstretched palm, darting up her arm until it was perched on her shoulder. Moira giggled.

"This is Avalon, Hop, and Scorbunny," she said, pointing to each in turn. "Do you want a name?" The skwovet peeped in assent, and Moira frowned thoughtfully. From one of Hop's many lectures of pokemon training, she knew a lot of trainers picked names for their pokemon based on an overarching theme, and she'd always loved the folk tales her mom told her when she was a kid. "Since you're a girl, how does Isolde sound?" The skwovet chirped and nuzzled her cheek, and Moira smiled.

"C'mon," Hop said, already impatient to keep moving. "Let's go meet the professor, then!"

* * *

The pokemon lab was pretty close to the entrance to Wedgehurst, and with Hop setting a driving pace, they made it there in record time. He pushed the door open excitedly, Moira sidling in after him, and they both looked around. The lab was surprisingly homey; Moira had expected a more clinical sense of decor, but the walls were covered floor to ceiling in bookshelves full of old, leather bound books, and there was an abundance of wildlife, with vines cascading from shelves on the walls and a glass enclosure set in the center of the room filled with non-native foliage and flowers.

As Hop oohed and aahed over the wealth of pokemon books, Moira noticed a woman looking at them with an amused smile. She flushed, having been caught gawking, and waved awkwardly. The woman waved back and walked over. She was striking up close, with bright teal eyes, riotous waves of copper hair pulled up in a jaunty side ponytail, and a worldly look of nostalgia in her eyes. "You must be Moira and Hop," she said, drawing Hop's attention from where he'd been peering at the back of a book. "I used to travel with Leon, back before he became Champion, but now I work with the professor. She's out working on a research project, so I'm her stand in for now."

Hop's eyes widened. "Wow," he said, impressed. "If you travelled with my brother, you must be a super strong trainer!" Sonia laughed, the yamper at her feet barking.

"I did alright," she said modestly. "But I couldn't quite hold a candle to Leon - he really has always been on another level." She clapped her hands together. "But - you're here to pick up your pokedexes! Leon let me know that you'd be coming, so I've already got them set up for you." At this, she walked to the table and picked up two sleek orange devices. She handed them to Moira and Hop respectively.

"I've already keyed them in to your trainer codes, so everything should be working properly! You'll want to swing by the pokemon center before you leave, though, since you'll need to get your trainer cards." Moira slid the pokedex into her bag.

"Thanks," she said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear self-consciously. "I know this must have been on short notice." Sonia smiled.

"Spontaneity is Leon's MO, so I'm pretty used to it," she said. "But he's been planning this for a while, so it wasn't much of a hassle to set everything up. And besides - I love helping trainers start their journeys. I remember how excited I was when I began mine; it's fun to watch new trainers take the same steps that I did."

Hop bounced on his heels, grabbing Moira's arm. "C'mon," he said, "Let's get cracking! The next train leaves in an hour, so if we run to the pokemon center now you can get your shopping in before we leave." Moira perked up at this, following him to the door. "Thanks," he said as they left. "Tell my brother I'm coming for his title soon!"

Getting their cards was a smooth process, even though Hop insisted on striking Leon's trademark pose for his photo, and Moira had ample time to swap out her shoes for a pair of stylish brown hiking boots (thank god for PCs making item storage so easy) before they were on the train.

* * *

Wedgehurst faded into a blur in the distance and the train sped along towards Motostoke, and Hop took the time to relay an almost encyclopedic runthrough of everything to do in Motostoke - he'd pulled up an innumerable number of trainer guides on his pokedex, and wanted to make the most of their stop in the city. Though the trip was supposed to take a few hours, the train slowed to a halt after only one, and Hop glanced out the window in confusion.

"Hey, this definitely isn't Motostoke," he said, standing up.

"I guess it wouldn't be an adventure if everything went smoothly," Moira mused. "Let's go check out what's going on."

"That's the spirit," Hop said, punching the air as he made his way off the train, Moira following close behind.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"The train's stopped?" Moira said, dismayed. "How long will it take to get the wooloo off the tracks?" The conductor frowned.

"It might take an hour or two-"

"This is perfect!" Hop exclaimed. "Don't you know where we are?" Moira glanced around.

"A train station?" she said, eyeing the vending machines wistfully. Her mom had loaded her bag with camping equipment and non-perishable food, but a soda sounded really good. Hop rolled his eyes, long suffering.

"The Wild Area! I heard that there's a ton of wild pokemon just roaming around here, and even some places you can dynamax. We're not that far from Motostoke now, so we should just cut through here on foot. It'll be your first time travelling as a real trainer!" Moira sighed. Roughing it in the wilderness wasn't exactly her idea of fun, but once Hop got going, there was no way to stop him. She followed him out of the rest stop, swinging by the vending machine on the way out.

The Wild Area was - well, wild. She'd seen it a couple of times on the train, but it was much bigger in person. Grassy hills stretched out in front of them, cut through by swathes of trees and rivers. Motostoke was a speck in the distance (luckily, since she had no sense of direction), and Moira resigned herself to a lot of walking.

"We can even add more pokemon to our teams," Hop said, still espousing the joys of the Wild Area. Moira frowned.

"But there's so many… how am I supposed to decide?" Hop shrugged.

"Just catch the first one you see, or something. Leon says any pokemon can be really strong if you train it well! Anyways, we should split up and meet up in Motostoke - at the speed you walk at, I could probably fill out my entire team and still get there before you." Moira kicked him in the shins, and Hop danced away, already running to the gates leading out of the rest station.

"See you in Motostoke!" he shouted. Moira sighed, shouldering her bag and walking towards the gates at a much steadier pace. Before she reached them, however, she heard her name being called, and turned around to see the woman from the lab in Wedgehurst jogging up to her.

"Hey - Moira, right?" Sonia asked. She was dressed differently, now, her heels traded out for sensible boots and a large bag slung over her back. "I thought you and Hop were headed for Motostoke?"

"The train got held up and Hop wanted to check out the Wild Area," Moira told her. "He already went ahead, though." Sonia laughed.

"Sounds like Leon's brother, alright. Both of them have way too much energy. But - this actually works out great! I'm actually out doing some field research - the professor thinks that I'm going to get stir-crazy cooped up in the lab all day." From the bright look in her eyes, it was an astute observation. "Which will be fun - I haven't travelled like a real trainer for ages. I know Yamper's super excited to be out and about again." The tiny dog barked in agreement, paws tippity-tapping the ground.

"Wait - I'm getting off track. Anyway, I have something I forgot to give you in the lab - I meant to pass this along to Hop, but I'll just have to catch him in Motostoke like I planned. You guys are staying for a few days, right? For the opening ceremony? Leon really cut it close with his timing - any later, and you would have had to wait until next year to take on the gym challenge. Well, here it is!" She dug around in her bag for a second, pulling out a sleek looking gadget and passing it to Moira.

"This is a box link - it'll let you access your pokemon box and storage even without using a PC at the pokemon center. It's pretty cutting edge - back in my day, we had to rough it in the wilderness. You kids have it great now." Despite her words, her eyes were gleaming with amusement, and the corners of her mouth were drawn up in a cheeky smile.

"You're barely older than us," Moira quipped, stowing the box link in her bag. "Thank you so much - this is great!"

"You're welcome! I'm off, now - I've got loads of research to do, and not enough time to do it. I think the professor is convinced that I'm hiding an extra set of legs somewhere, with how she expects me to run around the entire region." Moira giggled.

"Good luck!" she said, waving as Sonia jogged off.

* * *

There was something sharper about the air in the Wild Area. Even in the earlier months of autumn, Galar spent most days shrouded in a thick layer of fog and condensation, heavy storm clouds bearing down on the sky and turning the dim sunlight slate grey. In a town like Postwick, the old wrought iron street lamps and the gentle glow from the windows of the old brick houses offset the dreariness with the warmth of society. It was raining - as it often was - and Moira was thankful for the hood of her thick, waterproof wooloo-wool coat. She found herself wandering almost aimlessly through the lush, grassy hills, trudging towards the city farther north.

Hopy had said to catch the first pokemon she saw, but for all the abundant wildlife in the area, they tended to shy away from the train tracks. Hop said that the noise tended to scare them away. "I don't think I'm cut out for this, Avalon," Moira complained. "The closest I've ever gotten to camping was when I fell asleep in the greenhouse when I was seven. How do you even set up a tent, anyways?" Avalon chirped, pecking her ear, and Moira sighed.

"I know I told mum I'd try, but I don't really want to," she admitted. "I've barely been out of Postwick since we moved there, and I barely remember Wyndon. Hop's always so confident that he has what it takes, but I don't have that kind of drive. He and mum think it's because I'm lazy, but plants are different from pokemon. If I raise a flower wrong, if it dies, it's not the end of the world - I can take another cutting and try again, or buy more seeds and replant them. You and Isolde - I can't make that kind of mistake." She scrubbed her hands against her eyes, head tilted down so the rain would catch in her lashes.

"I have a duty of care, now. What if I get it wrong?" Avalon responded with a rapid fire burst of chirps, eyes narrowed as he soared in lazy circles around her. Moira couldn't understand most pokemon, not in the way that seasoned trainers and researchers could, but growing up with Avalon had made her attuned to his thoughts and body language. And it was pretty obvious how he felt about all this - for her chronic, terminal lack of confidence, the rookidee made up for it in spades. Moira smiled tremulously.

"No more whining from me, I promise. I'll even read up on the stuff Hop sent me. The first gym shouldn't be too hard for you, anyways - we've got the type advantage." It was getting dark out now, the thick clouds tinted violet as the sun dipped below the horizon. Moira had walked farther than she thought, passing through most of the hills right outside the rest stop and into the thick forest beyond. She could barely see anything, with the leafy foliage from the trees blocking out the last remnants of daylight.

"Guess we should set up camp, huh?" she asked Avalon, kneeling down to dig her gear out of her bag. Setting up the tent was easier than expected, as her mom had thoughtfully enclosed a set of instructions - she really knew Moira too well - and she was set up in no time, sitting cross-legged in the damp grass as she set up her cooking pot over the portable burner. Mum was obsessed with one of the newer cooking trends - curries - and had loaded her up with all the ingredients she needed.

Moira, Avalon, and Isolde were eating, bundled up in a thick flannel blanket that she had pulled out from her storage, when she heard a quiet squeaking from the underbrush nearby. Moira froze, peering into the brush, and a pokemon shyly peeked out, the tip of its head visible from the twigs. "Hey," Moira said softly. "You can come out if you want - I won't hurt you." The pokemon toddled out on stubby legs, its gaze focused on the half-empty of curry. It resembled one of the plants in her mum's greenhouse more than a pokemon, almost - a cute little green sprout with wide, pleading eyes. It looked between her and the pot a few times, squeaking all the while, and Moira laughed.

"You can have some, if you want." She served up an extra bowl, placing it a foot away from her cuddle puddle, and the budew cautiously darted up and began eating. It was obviously young, smaller than the ones she had seen in her textbooks, but it didn't seem to have a mother in sight, if it was so desperate for food. For all that Moira had talked about not loving pokemon as much as Hop, she was struck with an intense burst of fondness. She knew how most trainers caught pokemon - defeating them in battle and catching them by either convincing the pokemon of their strength, or weakening them until they couldn't resist the pokeball, but as much as Moira wanted to take the budew with her, she wasn't in the habit of beating on babies.

"You know," she started, the budew looking up from the curry and peeping in surprise, "If you want more food, you could come with me." The pokemon eyed her, clearly curious, and she smiled. "I'm a new trainer - I'm taking on the gym challenge with my friend. Have you heard of it? It's where trainers prove themselves against the strongest trainers in the region in battles." The budew trembled at this, hiding behind the tiny bowl of food, and Moira smiled. "But you don't have to battle if you don't want to! We could just be friends, and you could see the rest of the region. There's a lot more food to try than just curry." The budew blinked, and nodded quickly. Moira pulled a pokeball from her bag and held it out gently, the pokemon toddling towards her and tapping the button with its head. The pokeball shook once, gently, and sealed with a click, and the budew popped out right after, chirping in excitement and hopping into the blankets, clumsily dragging the curry behind it.

"Do you want a name? I'd feel weird just calling you budew all the time," Moira said. When the pokemon nodded, she frowned, searching her brain for something fitting. "I'll call you Cecilia, then."

* * *

The rest of the Wild Area was much of the same grassy hills and forested thickets, though Moira had heard that the much larger northern section, near Hammerlocke, had patches of arid desert spotted throughout. The light drizzle from the previous night had turned into a pounding downpour, Moira's leisurely pace turned into an almost-jog as she fumbled through the storm. Her pokemon had escaped to their balls, happy to shelter from the icy rain; Cecilia had been more reluctant, the grass type glad to soak up the water, but her short legs couldn't keep pace with Moira, and she wanted out of the wilderness as fast as possible. Even with her long coat, her trousers had gotten completely soaked within an hour of walking, and the cold, wet fabric clung to her legs uncomfortably.

When she spotted the entrance of Motostoke, Moira broke out into a full-pelt run, barely slowing down until she burst through the doors of pokemon center, hands braced on her knees as she gasped for breath. When she felt recovered enough, she walked to the reception desk, smiling weakly at the nurse.

"Just out of the Wild Area?" she asked, scanning Moira's trainer card as she passed it over. "You must be glad to be out - the weather certainly took a turn for the worse today." Moira laughed.

"I have never been happier to be inside," she said, shifting on her feet. Her socks were unpleasantly soggy, and she couldn't wait to change into something warm and drink a hot cup of tea. "I caught a budew on my way here and wanted to get her checked up?" she said, holding the pokeball out. The nurse smiled and took it.

"Of course! She should be ready to go in an hour or so - feel free to stay in the center until then. We'll call your name when she's done." Moira thanked the nurse and beelined for the bathroom, changing into a knit sweater and a soft pair of sweats. She was nursing a mug of herbal tea when Hop walked in to the center, hair plastered against his head and clothes soaked, but with a bright grin on his face. When he spotted her, he waved, sliding into the booth opposite from her.

"I saw so many amazing pokemon on the way here, you have no idea," he exclaimed, pulling out his phone to show her some pictures he'd taken. "We have to battle before we leave Motostoke - I caught a bunch of new pokemon for my team. What about you?"

"Just one," Moira said. "I don't know if she wants to battle, though," she said. "The ceremony's tomorrow, right?"

"Yep," Hop said. "I figured we could get registered and head to the Budew Drop Inn after - it's free for all trainers participating in the league challenge."

"Sounds good to me," Moira responded, perking up when the nurse at the desk called her name out. "That's me - did you need to do anything before we leave?" Hop shook his head.

"Nah, I got in earlier this afternoon and got everything squared up already - I was just coming her to wait for you."

* * *

Registration was a lot of waiting in line and filling out forms, and Moira was ready to fall asleep on her feet when they got to the inn. "I'm so excited for the ceremony," Hop enthused as they walked up the stairs. "All the gym leaders come to Motostoke for it - you'll get to see who you'll be up against in person." He glanced at the counter in confusion when he heard a shout. A group of somewhat strangely dressed people were gathered in front of it, clad in black leather and neon pink face paint, leaning over the desk with a surly expression.

"Hey - what's going on? We should check it out." Moira followed him, blinking in surprise when two of them spun around to face them, sneering down at them.

"Clear out, kids," the shorter one said, a young woman with scruffy, close-cropped pink hair. "Find somewhere else to kick around, why don't you?"


End file.
